Adobe Home and Water Well Project
Donation protected
Hello everyone!
My name is Montse Olmos and I want to tell you about the amazing things that my family and I are doing in Mexico.
We have returned home, after 15 years (me) and 24 years (my husband) of being in the so-called U.S. as migrants, doing all the heavy work that migrants do to keep the country running! We are now back home in the region of la Mixteca Poblana (state of Puebla) building our traditional CASA DE ADOBE, which is a home made out of clay (soil), as it was typically done here up until the 80’s.
Our roof is made with wood, reed (Mexican bamboo) and teja (roof tiles made out of cooked clay). Our foundation is made out of stones sourced from the region. Our bathroom is a baño seco (does not use water) and we have built a system to catch rainwater. We grow and harvest our crops, we raise cattle and are in the process of building a filter system for soapy waters. It is basically what is now called a BIOLOGICAL HOME. Keep in in mind however, that this is the way Indigenous people have lived since forever ago, so it’s not new. We are simply bringing it back.
Besides our adobe home project, we are REHABILITATING our WATER WELL. This is super vital because we live in a semi-desert region. The drought season lasts from November to June, when the rainy season starts and there’s an abundance of water. Many folks here in our town struggle to secure clean drinking water, ourselves included. Our home is not connected to the local plumbing system for us to receive potable water from the town’s well. If we were, we would receive water every three days, for two hours, as it is done with everyone else in town.
THAT’S WHY it is our top priority to have a working water well that can supply us with clean water all year round. We are more than halfway there, but there’s still work to be done.
Another key aspect of the work we are doing, is that we prioritize the local youth (neighbors and family members) when hiring workers. We pay them ABOVE the minimum wage and at the same time, they are learning important cultural processes, such as the making of adobe blocks, working with carrizo (reed), setting up natural filters and composts, well maintenance and more. They are learning the work that their parents and grandparents did and that is being forgotten.
As we build this beautiful home, rehabilitate the water well and care for the land, we are also setting the example for the new generations of San Jose Tetla, my husband’s and our daughter’s community.
Please support us by donating and/or sharing this campaign far and wide! You would then be supporting the revitalization of an Indigenous community in the heart of la Mixteca Poblana. Thank you!
My name is Montse Olmos and I want to tell you about the amazing things that my family and I are doing in Mexico.
We have returned home, after 15 years (me) and 24 years (my husband) of being in the so-called U.S. as migrants, doing all the heavy work that migrants do to keep the country running! We are now back home in the region of la Mixteca Poblana (state of Puebla) building our traditional CASA DE ADOBE, which is a home made out of clay (soil), as it was typically done here up until the 80’s.
Our roof is made with wood, reed (Mexican bamboo) and teja (roof tiles made out of cooked clay). Our foundation is made out of stones sourced from the region. Our bathroom is a baño seco (does not use water) and we have built a system to catch rainwater. We grow and harvest our crops, we raise cattle and are in the process of building a filter system for soapy waters. It is basically what is now called a BIOLOGICAL HOME. Keep in in mind however, that this is the way Indigenous people have lived since forever ago, so it’s not new. We are simply bringing it back.
Besides our adobe home project, we are REHABILITATING our WATER WELL. This is super vital because we live in a semi-desert region. The drought season lasts from November to June, when the rainy season starts and there’s an abundance of water. Many folks here in our town struggle to secure clean drinking water, ourselves included. Our home is not connected to the local plumbing system for us to receive potable water from the town’s well. If we were, we would receive water every three days, for two hours, as it is done with everyone else in town.
THAT’S WHY it is our top priority to have a working water well that can supply us with clean water all year round. We are more than halfway there, but there’s still work to be done.
Another key aspect of the work we are doing, is that we prioritize the local youth (neighbors and family members) when hiring workers. We pay them ABOVE the minimum wage and at the same time, they are learning important cultural processes, such as the making of adobe blocks, working with carrizo (reed), setting up natural filters and composts, well maintenance and more. They are learning the work that their parents and grandparents did and that is being forgotten.
As we build this beautiful home, rehabilitate the water well and care for the land, we are also setting the example for the new generations of San Jose Tetla, my husband’s and our daughter’s community.
Please support us by donating and/or sharing this campaign far and wide! You would then be supporting the revitalization of an Indigenous community in the heart of la Mixteca Poblana. Thank you!
Organizer
Lorena Trujillo
Organizer
Newark, NJ